An Update On Token Exploits *Updated (12/15/15)

David [Hi-Fi] Moore

Hi everyone,

We've been reading your comments regarding the recent Legendary tokens exploit issue and we know some of you have additional questions. With that in mind, we'd like to provide some further info and reiterate some points.

1. Exploits such as these are easily uncovered and we have always removed player accounts from the game whenever we discover abuses of the system. This isn't a new thing. It is an ongoing process we are vigilant about maintaining. Cheaters are always caught eventually and removed from the general population of players (ie; "Sandboxed"). This has been the case from Day 1.

While our routine efforts to monitor and sandbox accounts was enough to deal with the few players taking advantage of this exploit before, the recent addition of Legendary packs has made this a more widespread issue, which is why we’ve made a public announcement.

2. We are unable to provide numbers at this time regarding the amount of players that have used the exploit as that is still an ongoing investigation. However, early estimates show that the number is not huge. Speculation from some community members that the numbers are large, are unfounded. Bottom line; the number of players that have used the token exploit is fairly small and they will suffer consequences for behavior considered cheating.

3. To provide some transparency; second chances for players who have supported the game financially and have been caught using an exploit are possible. We take each situation on a case-by-case basis, looking at things like severity and how long the person has been playing, etc. These players provided with a one-time, second chance have their accounts rolled back to a time before it was corrupted by exploited gains. The loss can be significant for players in this situation and we usually do not see further cheating/exploiting from these accounts.

4. While we thank all of you for playing fairly and by the rules, we are not currently considering compensation for the great majority of the community who have refrained from cheating.

Thank you!

D3 Go! & Demiurge

**Updated 12/15/15**

An update to the "Update" as questions are still being asked:

• We do not look the other way when it comes to exploiting & cheating. Never have, never will.
• We manually roll back exploiter's accounts - meaning they can lose months of progress, including anything they gained fairly.
• We only offer this as a one-time courtesy to players so they don't lose everything they have paid for.
• At no point is a player allowed to retain anything they have obtained through an exploit.

The integrity of the game remains intact. We've tried to make this clear and will say it again in the hopes that the reality of the situation is known. Cheaters are not allowed to keep anything gained from exploiting or cheating. Their accounts are either removed from the game completely or rolled back to a point before cheating occurred - which includes removal of any items gained by exploiting/cheating.

rawl316

David, a lot of folks mentioned having their confidence shaken, myself included. How does this your post address our concerns?

rawl316

I also have a hard time believing your comment about public announcement. I've heard some of big names who cheated. They had their 5* team for a long time. You guys only posted about this because the exploit reached a point where it was a hot topic and posted publicly.

Ducky

"David wrote:

Moore"]2. We are unable to provide numbers at this time regarding the amount of players that have used the exploit as that is still an ongoing investigation. However, early estimates show that the number is not huge. Speculation from some community members that the numbers are large, are unfounded. Bottom line; the number of players that have used the token exploit is fairly small and they will suffer consequences for behavior considered cheating.

Large for the overall player base? Maybe not, but I bet in comparison for alliances that are in the top 100 it was much more severe and that is where the effects are felt more because things are much more competitive.

Unknown

This exploit goes way back to game release. What about anyone using it from that point onwards to get the rarest covers at that moment? 4*s I mean, way before 5*s, getting them from every heroic or event token.

Mawtful

"David wrote:

Moore"]
3. To provide some transparency; second chances for players who have supported the game financially and have been caught using an exploit are possible. We take each situation on a case-by-case basis, looking at things like severity and how long the person has been playing, etc. These players provided with a one-time, second chance have their accounts rolled back to a time before it was corrupted by exploited gains. The loss can be significant for players in this situation and we usually do not see further cheating/exploiting from these accounts.

So, do you have any plans for when these "players who have supported the game financially" decide to contest charges with Apple/Google and/or their Bank/Credit institute after taking a roll-back? With the sort of money that some of these "big fish" are splashing around, you must expect their bank to side with them. And, of course, the roll back would remove any record of them having received the goods for which they paid you. I guess you could let them keep any HP/CP gained during this time?

Unknown

ShionSinX wrote:

This exploit goes way back to game release. What about anyone using it from that point onwards to get the rarest covers at that moment? 4*s I mean, way before 5*s, getting them from every heroic or event token.

I think that was addressed in answer #1.

Just that cheaters have always existed, and have always been punished.

How much faith you have in that is up to you.

Eddiemon

ShionSinX wrote:

This exploit goes way back to game release. What about anyone using it from that point onwards to get the rarest covers at that moment? 4*s I mean, way before 5*s, getting them from every heroic or event token.

I think he covered that one with:

While our routine efforts to monitor and sandbox accounts was enough to deal with the few players taking advantage of this exploit before, the recent addition of Legendary packs has made this a more widespread issue, which is why we’ve made a public announcement.

You may choose not to believe him, but that question was clearly answered.

Phaserhawk

"David wrote:

Moore"] To provide some transparency; second chances for players who have supported the game financially and have been caught using an exploit are possible. We take each situation on a case-by-case basis, looking at things like severity and how long the person has been playing, etc.

Etc means how much did they bank roll you. If significant, they get a naughty note, anyone else, see you in the box. Just say it like it is. Some of your big money spenders were doing this and you don't want to lose them so you'll let them off easy. How you worded this is worse

Btw, what is small? Because 1% of a million is still a lot

Unknown

Phaserhawk wrote:

"David wrote:

Moore"] To provide some transparency; second chances for players who have supported the game financially and have been caught using an exploit are possible. We take each situation on a case-by-case basis, looking at things like severity and how long the person has been playing, etc.

Etc means how much did they bank roll you. If significant, they get a naughty note, anyone else, see you in the box. Just say it like it is. Some of your big money spenders were doing this and you don't want to lose them so you'll let them off easy. How you worded this is worse

Btw, what is small? Because 1% of a million is still a lot

I'm honestly surprised they admitted anything that wasn't 100% Goody Two Shoes here.

Which I guess is said transparency they were going for. admitting everything isn't always 100% peachy keen and fair.

STOPTHIS

Is anything being done to actually fix the exploit? Otherwise I just see this as an announcement telling people to be smarter when using it. Or spend money and just get a warning.

scottee

For those that are worried about the big spenders, the policy has always been to sandbox first, discuss later. There's lots of stories of people being sandboxed wrongly and having to plead to get out.

So it sounds like they detect, then sandbox, then if the player wants to petition and say they won't cheat again, they might get unsandboxed with the account rolled back to before the exploits, which depending on when they started, might be minimal or might be quite severe.

Unknown

STOPTHIS wrote:

Is anything being done to actually fix the exploit? Otherwise I just see this as an announcement telling people to be smarter when using it. Or spend money and just get a warning.

I get the feeling this is not a very easy fix. And also that it is (relatively) easy to detect people using it.

Like, it has something to do with the token-pulling code, and how it works both user-side and server-side.

It took them a few months to fix the "We can't get rid of an enemy Team Up" issue for 4* DDQ without breaking all teamups for all DDQ.

How long do you think it'd take to fix this thing, which is part of every part of the game?

I wouldn't be surprised if the standard mission rewards were just instantly claimed "tokens" like that. That'd be a pretty big part of the game to fix.

IceIX

STOPTHIS wrote:

Is anything being done to actually fix the exploit? Otherwise I just see this as an announcement telling people to be smarter when using it. Or spend money and just get a warning.

That was already covered by the first post David made on this, but yes. We don't really like to have *any* exploits open, but something somewhere will always exist. And this particular exploit is difficult to "be smarter" about. The only thing you could really do is do it less, which is kind of counterproductive to the cheat in the first place. We don't tend to advertise any exploits we close up though, since even things that are patched up and announced as such will give insights as to how others may be found. The less outside information there, the better.

Stanley71

3. To provide some transparency; second chances for players who have supported the game financially and have been caught using an exploit are possible..





Letters of indulgence?
Pay to win at its best!!!
I have no words for such an unmasking privilege for cheaters who spend money before...

I personally regret everly single Cent I paid for this game and throw it in your greedy throat! And it was more than 1000€ in about 2 years!

This all makes me very angry and let me lose interest in playing mpq.

firethorne

"David wrote:

Moore"]
3. To provide some transparency; second chances for players who have supported the game financially and have been caught using an exploit are possible.

Yep, there's the D3 Go! & Demiurge I expected. There be whales here. Integrity can take a back seat. Anyway, refer to my new sig.

fmftint

predictable, $ > integrity

DrStrange-616

Is the acceptance of bribes so you'll look the other way "this once" only retroactive or can I bribe you now for forgiveness down the line, too?

I like to understand all aspects of the potential graft before I write a check.

Unknown

DrStrange-616 wrote:

Is the acceptance of bribes so you'll look the other way "this once" only retroactive or can I bribe you now for forgiveness down the line, too?

I like to understand all aspects of the potential graft before I write a check.

Considering that even with the bribes, you still won't get the things you cheated on to get, eh it's probably not a super wise investment plan.

Cheaters still lose, but they'll be more willing to do "only" a rollback on cheatwhales. Once, probably.

That ain't exactly a den of sin an depravity corrupted by money, I'd say.

DrStrange-616

colwag wrote:

DrStrange-616 wrote:

Is the acceptance of bribes so you'll look the other way "this once" only retroactive or can I bribe you now for forgiveness down the line, too?

I like to understand all aspects of the potential graft before I write a check.

Considering that even with the bribes, you still won't get the things you cheated on to get, eh it's probably not a super wise investment plan.

Cheaters still lose, but they'll be more willing to do "only" a rollback on cheatwhales. Once, probably.

That ain't exactly a den of sin an depravity corrupted by money, I'd say.

It isn't the Sopranos, to be sure, but the implication is that if you didn't pay you don't get a second chance. Of course, the paying cheaters don't get to keep their goods because everyone is watching, but I'd bet if we weren't ...

I do realize they're running a business, but that doesn't mean you have to check your soul at the door. They've shown clearly here that they don't give a **** about the players or anything called integrity or ethics. It's just yucky.

Unknown

DrStrange-616 wrote:

It isn't the Sopranos, to be sure, but the implication is that if you didn't pay you don't get a second chance. Of course, the paying cheaters don't get to keep their goods because everyone is watching, but I'd bet if we weren't ...

I do realize they're running a business, but that doesn't mean you have to check your soul at the door. They've shown clearly here that they don't give a **** about the players or anything called integrity or ethics. It's just yucky.

Is that pay-for second chance exactly such a big fault that "They have no soul" and "They have absolutely no integrity or ethics" are apt descriptors?

And to be honest, I'm pretty sure that even if we could not see other rosters and whatnot, I don't think they'd let the cheating stand. Like, the cheats are ultimately them trying to get covers at a far cheaper price then normal, after all. (200 HP Heroic compared to 2500 Cover Buy)

It sounds pretty reasonable overall, I'd say. Little stinky, but not "Clearly don't give a **** about the players or anything called integrity or ethics" level. (Where did not giving a **** about the players get involved here, anyways?)